Unit 4: Sensation and Perception Flashcards
What form does Light take?
Waves.
Frequency
The distance between each hill found in Light Waves.
Amplitude
The height of each hill found in Light Waves.
Cornea
The clear curved structure that light must pass through first.
Pupil
The opening in the center of the
iris through which light enters the eye.
Lens
The transparent eye structure that focuses light rays falling on the retina.
Iris
The muscle that controls the opening of the Pupil.
Retina
Neural tissue lining the inside back surface of the eye; it absorbs light, processes images, and send visual information to the brain.
Cones
Specialized visual receptors that play a key role in daylight vision and color vision.
Fovea
The area at the center of
retina that is predominately cones.
Rods
Specialized visual receptors that play a key role in night vision and peripheral vision.
Optic Disc
A hole in the retina where the optic nerve fibers exit the eye to the brain. “The Blind Spot.”
Dark Adaptation
The process in which the eyes become more sensitive to light in low illumination.
Light Adaptation
The process of eyes becoming less sensitive to light in high illumination.
Receptive Fields
The area of space in which a receptor can respond to a stimulus.
Lateral Antagonism
Occurs when neural activity in a cell opposes activity surrounding cells.
Optic Chiasm
Optic nerves from the inside half of each eye cross over and then to the opposite half of brain.
Superior Colliculus
Coordination of visual input with other sensory input.
Feature Detectors
Neurons that respond selectively to very specific features of more complex stimuli.
Parallel Processing
The processing of many aspects simultaneously.
What Pathway
(Temporal area) Helps with recognition of objects like faces (ex. visual agnosia).
Where Pathway
(Parietal area) Where objects are located (ex. visual neglect).
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN)
A part of the thalamus in the brain that acts as a relay station, receiving visual information from the retina and transmitting it to the primary visual cortex for processing.
Ganglion Cells
Specialized neurons located in the retina at the back of the eye. They receive signals from Bipolar Cells.
Bipolar Cells
Cells in the visual system that connect the photoreceptors (rods and cones) to the Ganglion Cells.
Absolute Threshold
The smallest amount of energy that will produce a sensation. The probably of detection is 50%.
Just Noticeable Difference (JND)
How much change must take place to detect a change in the stimulus.
Weber’s Law
The larger or stronger a stimulus, the larger the change required for an observer to notice.
Subliminal Stimulation or Perception
Stimuli that is presented as below the threshold but still have an influence on behavior and/or thought.
Sensory Adaptation
When your senses adjust themselves to a constant level of stimulation.
Photoreceptors
Cells located in the Retina that convert light energy into neural impulses, allowing the brain to process visual information.
Nearsighted
A condition in which nearby objects are seen more clearly than distant objects because distant objects focus in front of the retina.
Farsighted
A condition in which faraway objects are seen more clearly than near objects because the images of near objects is focused behind the retina.
Trichromatic Theory
The belief that the human eye has three types of receptors that can perceive color, the three main colors are red, green, and blue.
Opponent-Process Theory
The belief that color perception depends on receptors that make antagonistic responses to 3 different pairs of colors: Red vs. Green, Yellow vs. Blue, and Black vs. White.
Dichromatism
A condition in which one of the patient’s three color receptors do not function, leading to color blindness.
Monochromatism
A condition in which two of the patient’s three color receptors do not function, leading to color blindness.
Blindsight
A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.
Prosopagnosia
A condition in which the individual is unable to use facial recognition to recognize familiar faces around them.
Pitch
The ability to perceive and distinguish different frequencies of sound.
Timbre
The quality or texture of sound, what makes a sound unique to a person or instrument even when playing the same note.
Sound Localization
The ability of an organism to discover the location of something producing sound waves based on things like intensity and timing.
Cochlea
A fluid-filled, coiled tunnel with hearing receptors.
Basilar Membrane (Hair Cells)
Receive the waves and convert them into a neural impulse, which is received by the auditory nerve.
Auditory Nerve
A bundle of nerve fibers that carry sound signals from the cochlea in the inner ear to the brain for processing.
Place Theory
The belief that perception of pitch corresponds to the vibration of different proportions, or places, along the basilar membrane.
Frequency Theory
The belief that perception of pitch corresponds to the rate, or frequency, at which the entire basilar membrane vibrates.
Volley Theory
The belief that groups of neurons can work together to perceive sounds at frequencies beyond their individual firing rates.
Conductive Deafness
Deafness caused by damage to the eardrum or ossicles.
Sensorineural Deafness
Deafness caused by damage to the inner ear, most prominently hair cells or the auditory nerve.
The 4 primary types of touch receptors
- Hot
- Cold
- Pain
- Pressure
Gate Control Theory
The belief that physical pain is not a direct result of activated pain receptor neurons but rather is perceived.
Phantom Limb Syndrome
A condition where the brain reorganizes sensory signals after the amputation of a limb.
Vestibular System
A part of the inner eat that contains 3 fluid-filled semicircular canals, providing a sense of balance by detecting the motion of the skull.
The 5 primary taste receptors
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Bitter
- Umami
Supertaster
An individual that has four times the normal amount of taste buds and are therefore more sensitive to sweet & bitter.
Taste Receptors
Sensory cells located in the taste buds on our tongues that allow us to perceive different tastes.
Pheromones
Chemicals secreted by animals to send signals, primarily for sex, trailing/following, and to act as an alarm.
Synesthesia
A condition in which stimulation of one sense generates a simultaneous sensation in another.
Perceptual Set
A readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way.
Bottom-Up Processing
Progression of individual elements to the whole (unfamiliar processing).
Top-Down Processing
A progression from the whole to its elements.
Perceptual Constancy
The ability to adjust to objects as they come closer (know they are the same).
Phi Phenomenon
An optical illusion that causes one to see several still images in a series as moving.
Motion Parallax
The apparent movement of objects when you (or another object) are actually moving.
Proximity
Objects that are close to each other seem to belong together.
Similarity
The brain tends to group objects that are alike.
Figure-Ground Relationship
The brain uses visual cues to set off a form from its background.
Closure
When we see an unfinished form the brain fills in the gaps to finish the form.
Visual Cliff Experiment
A research method used to study depth perception in infants and animals.
Monocular Cues
Visual cues that allow us to perceive depth using only one eye.
Relative Clearness
The farther away an object the less clear it appears to be.
Relative Size
The depth cue in which we perceive distance based on the comparison of sizes between objects.
Overlay/Interposition
An object that obscures part of another object, appears to be closer.
Relative Clarity
The perceptual cue where objects that appear sharp and clear are perceived as closer than hazy or blurry objects, which are seen as farther away.
Linear Perspective
Objects that form parallel lines appear to come together as they move farther away from us.
Texture Gradients
Small objects that are more thickly clustered appear farther away than objects that are spread out in space.
Retinal Disparity
Objects are represented on different parts of the retina in the left and right visual field (closer than 25 feet).
Convergence
Crossing your eyes as objects come closer.
Binocular Vision
Overlapping visual fields create the element of depth.
